Vigilance

Yesterday, President Trump signed a “religious liberty” executive order in front of a gathering of religious right leaders at the White House for the National Day of Prayer.

After much speculation – and vocal opposition from people concerned about equality and non-discrimination – the executive order we finally saw yesterday was scaled back from the sweeping “license to discriminate” that was first leaked back in February.

But we know from that original draft what motivated this order, and it’s clear it is an attack on our community in the name of a very specific set of religious beliefs.

The order as signed yesterday undermines access to contraception, and chips away at the separation between church and state. And it opens the door to further discrimination from federal agencies – some of which provide critical and life-saving support for much of our community, and none of which should have license to treat LGBTQ people or families differently from anyone else.

GLAD will remain vigilant.

Once we saw that leaked draft in February, we started preparing – gathering stories of those who would be directly impacted, and researching every legal avenue to fight back.

If we had seen that worst-case scenario order yesterday, we were ready to challenge it in court immediately. And we’ll be ready if and when President Trump, Vice President Pence, or any federal agency attempts to use religion as a justification for discrimination against LGBTQ people.

And while we prepare to defend against further attacks from this administration, we’re also staying focused on our goals: not only to stem the tide of hate but to keep advancing progress toward justice for all LGBTQ people.

As always, if you experience discrimination, or have questions about your legal rights, contact us at www.GLADAnswers.org. We want to hear from you.